Travel Unity Summit Series

2022 Travel Unity Summit Northeast

Leading Inclusive Growth in Tourism

About the Summit

The Travel Unity Northeast Summit brings together tourism professionals from major hubs—including Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, and across New York State—to collaborate on actionable equity strategies. Organized by Travel Unity, a non-profit dedicated to making travel more inclusive through standards, education, and certification, the summit serves as a collaborative hub for regional leaders looking to share best practices on applied DEIA.

Focus

Practical application of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) implementation strategies for destination management organizations (DMOs), hospitality professionals, and regional economic stakeholders.

"I want to sing the DEI song, but I want to sing it in a choir."

Key Discussions

Host Destination

Hosted in partnership with Tour Cayuga (Cayuga County Convention & Visitors Bureau) and held on-site at the Hilton Garden Inn Auburn in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Tour Cayuga utilized the event to deepen its local initiatives, working closely with Travel Unity on Certified Best Practices in Tourism (CBTU) pathways and fostering sustainable, diverse economic growth across the county.

December 7-9, 2022

Hilton Garden Inn Auburn
Auburn, NY

Summit Agenda

Session Details

Strategic DEIA Planning: Practical, “how-to” workshops focused on building, benchmarking, and maintaining a comprehensive organizational inclusion plan.
Youth & Workforce Immersion: Panels highlighting the integration of regional schools and youth organizations into hospitality mentorship programs.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

TIME	TOPIC
3:00-5:00 PM	Roundtable: DEI and Tourism in the Finger Lakes A dialogue around how DEI is and can be part of tourism strategies in the Finger Lakes Region.

Thursday, December 8, 2022

TIME	TOPIC	SPEAKER
9:00am	Welcome	Mayor Mike Quill, City of Auburn, NY
9:05-9:30am	Keynote	Hilina D. Ajakaiye, Executive Vice President of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau (GBCVB), dives into the deliberate work that goes into the All Inclusive Boston campaign and more around GBCVB’s DEI work.
9:30-10:30am	Panel: DEI Approaches from Across the Northeast	A deep dive from visitor-facing organizations of multiple sizes from across the NE, touching on their efforts to diversify storytelling, grow industry workforce, and engage with their communities. Moderated by Rachel Vandenberg of Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel. Rachel Vandenberg, Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel Lynn Tillotson, Visit Portland (Greater Portland CVB) Jason Meredith, NYC & Co. David Contreras Turley, New York State Division of Tourism at Empire State Development Sean O’Connor & Daniel Cano Restrepo, Newport Out
10:30-10:50am	BREAK
10:50-11:50am	Access, Accessibility, and Outdoor Experiences	Laura DiBetta, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Connor McGough, ARISE Loren Penman, Autism Nature Trail at Letchworth State Park Katy O’Reilly, Open Doors Organization Laura DiBetta of NYS DEC discusses initiatives to make outdoor spaces more welcoming to people of all backgrounds and abilities. Then, a series of brief presentations: Katy O’Reilly of Open Doors Organization gives practical advice on how visitor-facing organizations can be more accessible to travelers with disabilities. Loren Penman from the Autism Nature Trail at Letchworth State Park shares the path to their success. Connor McGough of ARISE shares his thoughts as a traveler who uses a wheelchair, an adaptive tools professional, and a Syracusan passionate about making the outdoors welcoming to everyone.
11:50am-12:50pm	Understanding Overlapping Identities	We all navigate the world with multiple identities. Dr. Rhoda Overstreet Wilson leads dialogues with our thoughtful and open speakers, then invites attendees to participate in an exercise to learn more about how they see themselves in the world. Dr. Rhoda Overstreet Wilson, Facilitator Tim James, Visit Rochester Kelly Metzgar, Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance Jacob Ornelas, Oneida Nation Enterprises
12:50-2:00pm	LUNCH
2:00-3:00pm	DEI Case Studies	Karen Kuhl of Tour Cayuga shares the process of leaning into Cayuga County as the chosen home of Harriet Tubman. Evan B. Hill and Olivia Khristan of the Corning Museum of Glass discuss CMOG’s work with schools, teachers, and communities to create a welcoming, educational, and inclusive space for visitors. Karen Kuhl, Tour Cayuga Olivia Khristan, Corning Museum of Glass Evan B. Hill, Corning Museum of Glass
3:00-3:20pm	Fostering Enduring Equality in Visitor-Facing Organizations	Carol Watson, the General Manager of Kimpton Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, will dive into how to integrate DEI practices across an organization with a focus on recruitment, representation in marketing, and partner accountability creating a system of enduring equality in an organization.
3:20-4:30pm	Workshop: Integrating DEI into Your Organizational Foundation	This workshop will offer participants the opportunity to take what they have learned today and apply it to their own organizations. Participants will go through a process of thinking about their organizations and how DEI is currently reflected and what more needs to happen to embed DEI into the foundations of the organization. Vandana Agrawal and David Naczycz will provide insights, tools and ideas for participants on how they can effectively integrate DEI into their organization. Vandana Agrawal, Travel Unity David Naczycz, CDTP, WeVenture
4:45pm	NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center Visit	After the day’s sessions, participants are invited to take a 5-minute walk to the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center for an exclusive after-hours visit. The Taste NY Market will remain open for participants, as well, for those looking to purchase an array of products grown, produced, or processed in New York State.

Friday, December 9, 2022

TIME	TOPIC	SPEAKER
9:00-9:30am	Keynote Session: DEI and Destination Stewardship	Carrie Simmons from Go Stowe (Stowe Area Association) shares the organization’s work on DEI through their destination stewardship strategy.
9:30-10:30am	Panel: Authentic Representation: How to Avoid Performative DEI Marketing	What separates authentically communicating with diverse groups from performative marketing? The panel will dive head-first into this crucial topic. Featuring Olga Luz Tirado and Nikita Jankowski. Moderated by Nicole Mahoney Nicole Mahoney, Break the Ice Media Nikita Jankowski, Belesai Communications Olga Luz Tirado, O Communications & Solutions Lisa Kribs, TGW STUDIO
10:30-10:50am	BREAK
10:50-11:50am	Workforce Development & Education	The travel industry is struggling to attract and retain quality staff. Discover strategies and initiatives around recruitment, development, and retention from a diverse group of speakers. Moderated by Helen Horsham-Bertels. Helen Horsham-Bertels, Bago Consulting, LLC Sara Douglass, ARISE Victor B. Younger, The Nolan Hotel School SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University Christopher Guidone, Tourism Diversity Matters
11:50-12:50pm	Community Engagement	How do you go from broadcasting to communities to having dialogue and collaboration? How do you make sure that communities have the opportunities to take part in their storytelling? How do we address the unique needs of specific groups within communities? The panel will share their insights that will help travel industry professionals toward authentic, sustained relationships with diverse communities. Moderated by Dr. Juhanna Rogers. Dr. Juhanna Rogers, CenterState CEO Ruthnie Angrand, City of Syracuse Elder Melody R. Smith Johnson Penny Peters, Akwesasne Tourism
1:00-1:45pm	Networking and Presentations by Local High School Students	Meet the local high school students who took part in a concurrent program during the morning of Fri Dec. 9.

Speakers & Moderators

The Travel Unity Summit brought together a diverse group of leaders from tourism, media, marketing, and community organizations. These speakers shared their insights on inclusive travel, storytelling, community engagement, and the future of the tourism industry.

Testimonials

"I want to sing the DEI song, but I want to sing it in a choir."

Hilina D. Ajakaiye

Meet Boston

"Tour Cayuga has long recognized that tourism is about more than attracting visitors; it's about community, belonging, and opportunity. Through our partnership with Travel Unity, we have strengthened our organizational culture, expanded workforce diversity, and supported inclusive economic growth..." The Travel Unity Summit is going to be invaluable, not only to the travel and tourism industry, but to our communities as well, because it will be an event that reaches past these fault lines and pulls all the threads together, from the economic benefits of diverse travel to ecotourism to sustainability and more.”

Tour Cayuga Advocacy Statement